


Out of the Closet and Into the News Cycle

by MCUsic_to_my_ears



Series: Avengers Pride Month 2019 [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Incredible Hulk (Comics)
Genre: Asexual Character, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Awesome Pepper Potts, Bisexual Character, Bruce Banner Is a Good Bro, Coming Out, Demisexual Character, F/F, Gay Character, Gen, Grief/Mourning, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Multi, Pansexual Character, Parent Bruce Banner, Parent Natasha Romanov, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Press and Tabloids, Pride, Pride Parades, Protective Bruce Banner, Protective Pepper Potts, QPRs, Rumors, Social Media, Twitter, queer platonic relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-04
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2020-04-07 21:04:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,349
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19093111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MCUsic_to_my_ears/pseuds/MCUsic_to_my_ears
Summary: Pepper Potts is spotted at Pride with Bruce Banner. The media coverage triggers some personal revelations to be told.





	1. CEO Pepper Potts and Scientist Bruce Banner Seen Together at NYC Pride

****_CEO Pepper Potts and Scientist Bruce Banner Seen Together at NYC Pride_

By Albert Dickinson (@AD_People)

Published June 26, 2023

\-----

Stark Industries has been leading the way in establishing inclusion and equality in the workforce, eliminating the wage gap in all SI-owned businesses and championing equal rights campaigns in the community. The company has come out in support of LGBT+ rights on several occasions (most notably in 2016, directly after the tragic PULSE nightclub shooting), so CEO _Pepper Potts_ attending the New York City's Pride Parade last Saturday was not a surprise. The real shock came from her two companions. The first was _Morgan Stark_ , six-year-old daughter of the late _Tony Stark_ and Potts herself. Was it really appropriate to bring such a young child to such an R rated event? Maybe not, but Morgan's public appearances have been highly sheltered by her mother. Her presence at Pride seems a bit out of character for the mourning family.  

The true curiosity of the event is unveiled in Tweets from attendants of the parade itself. One Pride-goer (@ABenRus) posted an image of _Dr. Bruce Banner_ holding Potts' daughter with the caption "Stepdad already? #toosoon #NYCPride #Avengers".

_[Tweet pictured here. Stark holds tightly to Banner’s hands while riding on his shoulders, a smile on both their faces.]_

Another Twitter user (@KarolinaDean) uploaded an image of Banner and Potts in a seemingly intimate hold, writing “#TonyStarkErasure? Not at my #NYCPride #BanBanner”.

_[Tweet pictured here. Banner and Potts are holding hands, leaning into each other to exchange a few words.]_

These Tweets, along with others like them, reveal an interesting narrative emerging from the Stark household. Has Potts really moved on this fast? Has Banner? Remember that Potts and Stark were married for four years prior to his passing and that Banner was rumored to be in a relationship with _Natasha Romanov_  prior to hers.

Both heroes have only been gone for less than four months. What does the speed of this new relationship have to say? Is Potts moving too fast? Or was there an unknown affair beginning to surface?

More articles to come as this story unravels.


	2. Editorial: The Queer Avengers and Why We Never Came Out

_ Editorial: The Queer Avengers and Why We Never Came Out _

By Dr. Bruce Banner

Published June 30, 2013

\-----

It has come to my attention that the respect of privacy expected by Tony Stark has been discarded upon his death. In the spirit of this trespass, I decided to give the people what they want: intimate details into the life of Tony Stark. 

First, though, I must establish some well known and some newly announced facts.

  1. Tony Stark is attracted to men. Shocking? Hopefully not, considering the tabloid articles he inspired in his twenties. 
  2. Tony Stark is specifically pansexual/panromantic, meaning his sexual/romantic attraction is for people, not a specific gender. 
  3. I, Bruce Banner, am attracted to men. Shocking? Probably, seeing as the one confirmed long term relationship on my Wikipedia page is with a woman. 
  4. Specifically, I am a homoromantic demisexual (try saying that five times fast), aka I am romantically attracted to men, and only sexually attracted to men after becoming good friends with them. 
  5. Tony Stark and I have been dating since 2013 and have been engaged since 2018 (he proposed because I was ‘too chicken’ as he always said). We did not get married, despite the legality of gay marriage, because we feared our world-saving credibility would be diminished (and also because I am a ‘gay chicken who wouldn’t know how to cock-a-doodle-doo even if [I] had a Ph.D. in it’ (Tony’s words. My response: ‘Roosters cock-a-doodle-doo. I think I am excused.’)). 



These facts, all easily verifiable by our closest friends, PR reps, and lawyers, were all concealed in order to protect ourselves and the world. It is no secret that Tony and I have never been poster children for mental health. Our relationship being targeted by the bigoted masses would have destroyed us, especially in the early years. We understood that we could have been role models for (or at least representatives of) LGBTQIAP+ individuals, but decided to focus our support of our community to financial and verbal. No symbolism for us sadly (‘Symbolism is the propaganda of literature’, as Tony once informed me after reading  _ One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest _ and crying). Instead, we hid. 

Which brings me to the topic of Natasha Romanov. Natasha and I have been close friends since the formation of the Avengers Initiative and, beginning in 2015, a closely watched couple in the public’s eye. Since I am a gay man though, Natasha and I never would have worked as a real couple. We did work as a beard though. When Tony and I went on dates, Natasha and Pepper would join us. Natasha and I would sit on the same side of the table, Tony and Pepper on the other. It wasn’t ideal, but it kept our secret well enough. Why Pepper? First, because Pepper was already close to Tony and easily trusted. But also because Pepper and Natasha began dating in 2016, so Tony worked as a beard for her. 

To establish a few more facts:

  1. Pepper Potts is bisexual, biromantic. 
  2. Natasha Romanov was asexual, demi-pan-romantic. 
  3. Pepper Potts and Tony Stark entered into a queerplatonic relationship in 2017. A QPR entails an intense partnered bond that doesn’t require physical or romantic intimacy. 



The situation was very beneficial to all of us. No one had to know our secrets but we could still go out in public with our partners without speculation. Then the Vanishing occurred. Somehow, everyone in our relationship survived. Natasha and I handled this trauma in an unhealthy manner. She began working extremely hard on world-saving and I began working very hard on merging with the Hulk. Pepper and Tony, on the other hand, realized their mortal attributes and did something neither Natasha or I were capable of: they created a child. 

Morgan is the most beautiful human I have ever seen. She is perfect. Upon her birth, Natasha and I retreated from our coping a little, just to be with this angel. Although she is Pepper and Tony’s daughter, she will always be my child as well. 

When her father and stepmother died, Pepper and I became closer than we had before. We are all hurting and we are trying to do what’s best for Morgan. 

Bringing her to Pride in New York City was what’s best for Morgan. We want to show her that our family is not alone. That the world can still celebrate while we are in mourning. 

Our family is the best thing that has ever happened to me. No matter how the world reacts, I will always stand by them. 


	3. An Interview with Newly ‘Out’ Pepper Potts

_ An Interview with Newly ‘Out’ Pepper Potts _

By Katherine Farrell (@NYT_KateF)

Published July 3, 2023

\----- 

In light of  recent events , I sat down with  _ Pepper Potts _ to get her take on her past secret relationships and her current family. I was greeted into their custom made lake house by Potts herself. Her daughter,  _ Morgan Stark,  _ was watching from the kitchen. I greeted her and she ran off, citing that “Peter is in the backyard.”

“Peter?” I asked Potts. 

She smiled. “Peter Parker. He’s an intern at SI, but he’s been like a brother to Morgan.” The CEO then invited me into their cozy living room. I declined her offer for tea and got right to the point. 

“Have you read the editorial by Dr. Banner?”

Potts laughed, “I hope so. I was his first editor before he sent it off.”

“So you approve everything that he stated?”

“Definitely.” The passion behind her voice was inspiring. This was clearly a woman who loved her life and her family and would do anything to protect it. “It was time to quit hiding. We had been considering it for a while since we don’t want Morgan to grow up juggling lies. The article about Pride helped catalyze our public ‘coming out.’”

“Why did you decide to have Dr. Banner publish that article first? Rather than a press conference or an interview, such as this?”

Potts considered her words. “Both of those can get out of hand at times. Bruce… we knew that his voice needed to be heard first. Tony was his partner before I ever could have been and Tony was in the public eye long before Natasha. Bruce needed to be heard first and he needed to do it in a way that he felt comfortable.”

From the back of the house, I heard shouts of excitement. Potts smiled at the noise. “Morgan and Peter always have more fun than I think possible.” 

“Is Peter a part of your family?” I asked casually. There has been speculation about  _ Parker’s _ role in the Stark family since his announcement as Tony Stark’s personal intern. But Potts easily turned the conversation back to her relationship with Natasha Romanov. No revelations about Stark’s secret love-child today, sadly. 

“Natasha and I clicked from the beginning. We were great friends first, then… something blossomed. I found something in Natasha that I never expected to find: a partner. A partner who I could truly trust.”

“And what about Tony? Bruce noted that you two are what is called a ‘queerplatonic relationship’. How does this differ from your relationship with Natasha?”

“Natasha and I engaged in romantic and sexual activities, to put it bluntly. We went on dates. We slept in the same bed. Tony and I raised a child together, something neither Natasha nor Bruce wanted to be a part of initially. They joined in our parenting later on, but they never intended to. Morgan just has a way to draw people in. Sure, there was some overlap between the relationships, but how I felt about Natasha was nothing like how I felt about Tony. Hence the different labels for the relationships.”

That made a surprising amount of sense. But that brought into question the origin of Morgan herself. 

“I carried Morgan for nine months,” Potts explained. “She has my and Tony’s DNA. No, Tony and I did not have sex. I was inseminated with his sperm because she is  _ our _ daughter. We didn’t want this little girl to be confused, despite her extended family being the Avengers.”

Potts then invited me to tour the house. Curious as to her motivation, I followed her immediately. Touches of family sprinkled the ground floor. Drawings that were signed by Morgan were pinned to the fridge. Family pictures were hung on the walls. Her intention was clear: this was a family of love. The floor above belonged to Potts and Romanov. There was a bedroom, a second living area, and a pair of offices. Below the main floor was a bedroom, a third living area, and a research lab. Stark and Banner’s space, it seemed. 

“Where’s Morgan’s bedroom?” I asked as we returned to the main living room. 

“At the back of this floor. We didn’t want her to feel that she needed to choose between any of her parents, as we all love her equally.”

“That’s what it always comes back to here, isn’t it? Love?”

Potts nodded. “Love is the only thing that prevails in the end.”

For once, I didn’t need to think of a killer button to my article. Potts wrote it for me. 


	4. Morgan Stark Publishes Facebook Video Responding to Recent Reports

_ Morgan Stark Publishes Facebook Video Responding to Recent Reports _

By Cynthia Adams (@C_Adams_WashPost)

Published July 10, 2023

\----- 

Yesterday,  this video appeared on  _ Pepper Pott’s  _ public Facebook page . The video begins with  _ Morgan Stark,  _ daughter of Potts and Tony Stark, and  _ Peter Parker,  _ an intern at Stark Industries, greeting the viewers. Parker is behind the camera for the duration of the video as his physical appearance has never been revealed to the public. 

///

**_Parker:_ ** _ Okay, M, it’s on. _

**_Stark:_ ** _ Hi world! _

**_Parker:_ ** _ Hi everyone. I’m Peter. I’m going to be guiding Morgan through some of the points she wanted to make with this video. It was all her idea. Everything she has to say is her opinion.  _

///

The video cuts for a moment, then we are back. The following section is a direct transcript from the video. Further analysis will come in later articles. 

///

**_Parker:_ ** _ Why did you want to make this video? _

**_Stark:_ ** _ After we went to the parade, a lot of people started being mean to Mommy and Papa Bruce. Mommy had to do an interview at home and I wasn’t allowed to talk to Miss. Farrell, but I wanted to tell people what I think about my parents.  _

**_Parker:_ ** _ And who are your parents? _

**_Stark:_ ** _ My Mommy is Pepper Potts. My Daddy is Tony Stark. They’re best friends. Mommy’s girlfriend is Mama Nat and Daddy’s boyfriend is Papa Bruce. My step parents are friends but not  _ best _ friends like Mommy and Daddy.  _

**_Parker:_ ** _ How did you know your family was ‘different’? _

**_Stark:_ ** _ I don’t think they are. Not really. Lots of people have step parents. My parents all love each other, so I’m really lucky.  _

**_Parker:_ ** _ What is one thing about your family you want everyone to know? _

**_Stark:_ ** _ That they are all really good people. I love them all so much. It really hurts my feelings when people say that my family is bad. That it doesn’t make sense. But family shouldn’t have to make sense to be good. I love my family. I love my step parents just as much as my real parents and they love me too. I miss Daddy and Mama Nat a lot. [sniffles] But Mommy and Papa are always gonna take care of me. I thought the world loved them back but now people are saying mean things about Mommy and Papa Bruce and I’m not allowed to watch the news or go on Google without ‘supervision’. I just want people to be nice.  _

_ [video cuts] _

**_Stark:_ ** _ Mommy said I should make a video to help show that being mean isn’t nice. I miss my Daddy and Mama and so does Mommy and Papa. So do all my aunts and uncles. Our family isn’t blood, but Daddy said blood was stupid anyway.  _

_ [end of video] _

_ /// _

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Pride all!


End file.
